M A G A Z •: - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

John Hilton went out on his
monthly scouting trip for Desert
Magazine readers and located
an interesting new field of "desert
roses." Also, he nearly had
an exciting encounter with a prehistoric
ground sloth, but—well,
you'll have to read this story. It
is one of Hilton's best.
In on a
By JOHN W. HILTON
Photographs by Harlow Jones
>o N a previous issue of Desert Magazine I wrote abou^
( I those strange rose-shaped forms of chalcedony which
-—* occur in many places in the Southwest—chalcedony roses
they are commonly called.
I mentioned a number of localities where they are found, and
suggested that readers of the magazine tell me of other fields
where such specimens could be gathered.
There was a widespread response to my request. I am still
getting mail on the subject, and my list of "desert rose" fields
would make an imposing map. It would include nearly every
desert county in three states.
While I have not had the time to visit all these places, some
of the letters have led me into areas of unusual interest, not
alone for their chalcedony but for other minerals which often
occur in the same locality.
One of these fields is Picture Rock canyon in Arizona. I
have not been able to find this name on. any official map, so I
am merely designating it by the name generally used by residents
of that region. In my opinion that is a good rule for mapmakers
to follow. There would be less confusion if commonly
accepted place names were given official sanction.
Picture Rock is an accurate descriptive name for this canyon.
On some of its sidewalls are many of the finest Indian
petroglyphs I have ever seen.
The folks who run the little trading post at Olburg, Arizona
guided me to the spot. My companions were Max Felker and
Ed. Matteson, gem rock enthusiasts, and Harlow Jones, photographer.
We left the main highway and followed a good
dirt road toward the canyon where the trading post owners
told us they had seen some "pretty white rocks." Off to our
right, almost hidden by a forest of Saguaro cacti, we could secsome
of the houses of the Pima Indians whose reservation we
were crossing.
As we neared the hills the giant cacti became larger and
more abundant. On one of them we saw a fine crest. These
crested Saguaro are rare indeed and scientists who are interested
in this form of growth have catalogued all they have found
in Arizona.
No one knows for sure why a normal cactus suddenly begins
throwing out this strange crest-like growth at the top. It is evi-
Members of the Hilton party found the chalcedony weathering
out of seams in the face of the cliff.
dent there is some disturbance of the cell structure, but laboratory
study of the "fan" has failed to disclose any evidence of
disease or cancer. The fact remains that they are exceedingly
rare among the Saguaro—and the chance of finding such a crest
is about one in a million.
As we entered the mouth of the canyon we saw what appeared
to be crests on several of the barrel cacti, but on closer
inspection these odd-shaped tops proved to be "monstrose
forms." Here again the cell structure is disturbed, but the abnormal
growth takes a less graceful form than in the true crest.
The tops of these barrel cacti resembled huge thorny cauliflower
heads. In many instances they had dozens of growth
centers at the tip of the plant. According to some authorities
this is a distinct species found only in certain isolated sections
of Arizona.
Soon after we entered the canyon we noted Indian writings
on the rocks on both sides of the road. Some of the boulders
were covered with them and in several instances the glyphs
of one period seemed to be imposed on those of an earlier culture.
Frank Midwall who first brought this canyon to my attention
tells me that the symbols incised in the rocks range from
the period of nomadic tribesmen down to the pueblo age. The
fact that some of the obviously newer glyphs show the figures
of horses would indicate that the Pimas were still carving the
boulders after the advent of the white man.
I am happy to report, however, that none of the Arizona
MAY, 1941 19